|
Synopsis
In 1972,
Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine starred in the screen
adaptation of SLEUTH, based on Anthony Shaffer's Tony
Award-winning play and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz.
Olivier played Andrew Wyke, a droll old writer whose wife is
having an affair with the young, ambitious Milo Tindle,
played by Caine. Thirty-five years later, Caine is starring
as Wyke in an updated version of SLEUTH, completely
rewritten by Nobel Prizewinner Harold Pinter and directed by
multiple Oscar nominee Kenneth Branagh. Jude Law, who played
the Michael Caine role in the 2004 remake of ALFIE, now
takes over as Tindle, a hairdresser-actor who has shown up
at Wyke's estate to demand that Wyke divorce his wife so
Tindle can marry her. But the extremely successful and
wealthy Wyke is not about to give up his wife without a very
determined and well-calculated battle of wits. Wyke lives by
himself in a home that features dozens of electronic gadgets
and odd contraptions, forcing Tindle to always be on the
lookout for something strange to happen. The cat-and-mouse
game continues as Tindle and Wyke play mind games with each
other in a thrilling contest of one-upsmanship that soon
involves a gun. Caine is marvelous as Wyke, strutting
through his home with the absolute confidence that he will
get the best of Tindle, but Law, who is also one of the
film's producers, holds up his end of the drama, giving as
good as he gets. Branagh keeps a steady hand as director,
not allowing the camera to get in the way of the two dueling
characters, but Tim Harvey's unusual production design
nearly steals the show.
|
